27 



District Reports. 



BULWER, 7th March.— The fortiiiyl t ended 

 this date has been principally noted by heavy 

 rains daily. The roads are in a bad condition, 

 the repairs are washed away as fast as made, 

 and transport riding is being pursued with the 

 greatest difficulty. It is wonderful how the 

 postcart keeps up its journey from Maritzburg 

 to Bulwer every day without fail iu spite of 

 the heavy roads and wet weather. The last few 

 days we have had very cold rains, which may or 

 may not be a warning of the early approach of 

 frosts. It will be a serious matter if we have 

 frosts in this division before the middle or end 

 of April, as the mealie crops are exceedingly 

 backward. There was a large sale of stock held 

 at the village yesterday, but it was much marred 

 by the incessant rain falling throughout the 

 day. Many entries arrived too late, delayed by the 

 previous days to the sale being wet also. Though 

 there were a good many buyers present, bidding 

 was far from keen, and stock realised very much 

 lower prices to previous sales, It was difficult to 

 find buyers for cattle from across the East 

 Griqualand Border in consequence of their being 

 liable to get red water and gallsickness in Natal. 

 I regret to have to report the outbreak of lung- 

 sickness at the farm Coleford in this Division. 

 Tea head of cattle have already died from the 

 disease. Energetic measures are being taken to 

 stamp out the outbreak. Sheep and horses, as 

 far as I know, are free from disease. 



H. W. Boast, Magistrate. 



ENDWEDWE, 2nd March.— There has been 

 a marked change in the weather during the past 

 week, and I anticipate an early winter. Heavy 

 rains have fallen, and the crops promise a good 

 yield. I am afraid, however, they will sufEer 

 from the ravages of the locust, which are now 

 in the hopper stage and are giving trouble in 

 several localities ; nothing is being done to 

 destroy them, Several swarms are travelling 

 towards the private lands in the adjacent 

 Division, Tnar da. I have tried the fungus with- 

 out success, and think that the arsenic treat- 

 ment should be tried, and feel sure of its 

 success. Ttere would be no danger of using 

 the poison amongst the Natives. I noticed in 

 your last issue an account of a trout being 

 found caught between two stones in the Mooi 

 River. Perhaps, it would be interesting to 

 some to know that a little over a mouth ago one 

 of the Police troopers stationed here happened 

 to be returning from Verulam, and in crossing 

 the Umhloti River, heard a splash, and looking 

 round saw a large fish caught between two 

 stones. He dismounted, secured it, and took it 

 to camp ; it was a lirge scale fish, weighing 

 about 3 lbs. Fowls are scarce, and very few 

 eggs obtainable. There has not been much 

 fruit, the mango crop being a failure. So far 

 there has only been one case of horse sickness, 

 one of the Police horses dying on the 16th 

 instant, of blue tongue. The Natives have lost 



a few goats, otherwise the health of the stock 

 in this Division has been very good. 



Walter H. Acutt, Magistrate. 



GOURTON, Ixopo, Gth March.— The month 

 of February was about the record for drought. 

 Barnng the 20th, when an inch fell, there has 

 been no rain. The winds were mostly from the 

 north. There has been rain all about, but in 

 our Thorns' none. The grass is good, the mists 

 keening it going. Cattle are fat and looking 

 well. The weather seems to suit them. We 

 shall be able to cut some hay, thanks to the. inch 

 on the 20th. For the last fifty years, I have 

 never seen the I.xopo so low Spruits have 

 ceased to run : natives have to go miles 

 for water for cattle and domestic purposes. 

 The crops are almost nil. Someone will have 

 to feed the black brother, or he will help him- 

 self. Away from the Thorns, on the top, 

 mealies have recovered, and give promise of fair 

 crops. 



Chas. Green. 



GREYTOWN, 4th March.— There have been 

 no notes from this place for a considerable 

 period ; this has been due partly to the absence 

 of remarkable occurrences. The cry for rain 

 gradually died away as the season advanced. 

 There has fallen since September, 2078 inches 

 of rain, which is somewhat over that of the 

 whole of ICOO, and has proved sufficient for the 

 season's crop, although scarcely so for the 

 replenishment of the springs. The mealie crop, 

 and for the summer there has been little other 

 than mealiei planted, is promising exceedingly 

 well everywhere. It is the crop which, perhaps, 

 suffers less than anj- other— since the absence of 

 locusts — from the various insects which seem to 

 have engated man in this land in the strugle for 

 existence, iThe Division had acquired some fame 

 for the excellence of its fruit, but 1 doubt whether 

 the inhabitants will continue much longer in 

 their efforts to grow it. I believe I am correct 

 in saying that peaches have this year been 

 almost entirely destroyed by the fly. Apples, 

 plum?, figs, etc., although they did not sufEer in 

 so great a degree, were also much damaged. I 

 am told that a moth also, which has apparently 

 not long been known to do so, has attacked the 

 grapes in some parts, perforating the skin and 

 causing them to shrivel. This is, however, for 

 the present, only a small trouble. In tbe Mooi 

 River Valley, the yield has been very heavy, 

 proving its capabilities as a wine-producing area 

 to be very great. The chief enemy to fruit, the 

 Hy, could, I believe, be ke^t to some extent in 

 check if orchards were carefully watched and 

 all that falls from ^,he trees carefully, quickly 

 and deeply buried. E.xcept for some loss 

 sustained by Mr. Otto, of Riet Vlei, from blue- 

 tongue in his sheep, I have heard of no disease 

 amongst stock. Horsesickness has scarcely 

 manifested itself. 



J. Y. Gibson, Magistrate. 



